Chelsea can rise again once they have addressed flaws in their squad

Didier Drogba is a rotten apple but that does not mean Roman Abramovich must
burn down a good orchard.

Thinking time: Chelsea captain John Terry still has to decide whether to stay at Chelsea or move to Manchester CityPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

By Henry Winter

7:00AM BST 08 May 2009

Today, Abramovich is hurting as badly as any Chelsea fan, outraged by Drogba's shameful behaviour, angered by Tom Henning Ovrebo's shocking refereeing, but now is the time to blink away the tears of frustration. Now is the time to focus clearly on making sure that Chelsea go again next season, that they regroup, remove the rot, rebuild sensibly and reach for the stars again.

No one who has followed the business career of Abramovich or the sporting endeavours of his two most important players, John Terry and Frank Lampard, would doubt their resolve. The Drogba/Ovrebo nightmare that engulfed Chelsea at the Bridge will not destroy their dream of the European Cup.

Late on Wednesday evening, Terry could be encountered in a back corridor, suited and booted, his face drained, his heart close to breaking, but with a steely look in his eye that indicated the fightback was underway. Failure is not the act of falling down, it is the refusal to rise up again and Terry has never shirked a challenge. Chelsea will be back.

Inevitably during such emotional moments, stupid talk will dribble forth about the need to rip the team apart completely, of only a mass recruitment campaign ending a dispiriting Champions League sequence, stretching back five years. Blues fans still smart over Claudio Ranieri's insane substitutions in 2004, Luis Garcia's 'ghost-goal' of 2005, Ronaldinho's brilliance in 2006, Pepe Reina's shoot-out saves in 2007, Terry's Moscow slip in 2008 and now the 2009 pain wrought by Drogba/Ovrebo and Andres Iniesta's late strike. Chelsea are missing out only by tiny margins.

So move away from the panic button. The nucleus of a European Cup-winning team is in place: Petr Cech, Terry, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Michael Essien, Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka. Keep those, move others out. The Portuguese contingent may be thinned out, with Jose Bosingwa, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco under threat. Michael Ballack is paid an obscene amount, £121,000 a week, but does not deliver consistently, a similar accusation that can legitimately be levelled at Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou. John Obi Mikel's recent driving travails have hardly endeared himself to the club.

The squad's flaws are obvious. A real wide flier – Arjen Robben with heart – is required as are new strikers, although Anelka is worth keeping. The plan was always to offload Drogba this summer, sending him back to his beloved Marseille, so little has changed there.

Luis Felipe Scolari's gut instinct about the Moody Blue's self-obsession, excruciating penchant for the theatrical and lack of respect for others, was proved correct. So au revoir, Drogba. No more histrionics. Confine him to history. What is laughable is that Drogba was hoping Chelsea would offer him a new, improved contract.

Drogba's antics, particularly swearing down a Sky lens into a million living rooms, have badly damaged Chelsea's image and Abramovich would recoup some kudos for his battered club by sacking Drogba. As it stands, a lengthy ban by Uefa from their club competitions of anywhere between six and 10 matches, makes it pointless keeping him.

Few sympathisers will be found but Drogba's mindset needs analysing. The Ivorian's splenetic reaction towards defeat was partly rooted in his surprise at learning he had been withdrawn for tactical reasons, not because of a supposed ankle problem.

Ray Wilkins, Hiddink's assistant, apparently decided that with Chelsea leading, and Barcelona down to 10 men following Eric Abidal's dismissal, that they should hold what they had, introducing the more defensive Juliano Belletti and trying to see the game out. Inevitably, this invited Barcelona on even more. Drogba was proving such a high-grade irritant to Barcelona's defence that it was a costly decision by Wilkins and Hiddink.

Barring a respectful nod to Lampard and Terry, the only people whose reputation have been enhanced this week are Premier League referees. In the wake of mistake-riddled European officiating, taking in Roberto Rosetti's error over Darren Fletcher and then Ovrebo's howlers, English referees could be forgiven for quiet smiles as they head out for this weekend's work.

More in need of some good PR is Uefa. Its general secretary, David Taylor, moaned about the English media's view of Ovrebo yesterday when the Scot, usually a fairly sane observer, would be better off devoting his energy to improving refereeing standards so that massive games like Wednesday's are not destroyed again. Ovrebo's career is unlikely to recover and it will be a surprise to see him at the 2010 World Cup now.

Uefa is also about to be reminded of the power of the English in Rome. Manchester United's allocation for the Stadio Olimpico is so meagre, only 19,500 offered with at least 10,000 of those going to executive members and box-holders, that many Red Army foot-soldiers will end up buying tickets off locals and Barcelona fans. Uefa faces a segregation nightmare.

Viewing from afar, Chelsea fans find themselves in the rare position of craving a United victory simply to put one over on Barcelona and Uefa. For all the hype over a dream final, for all Uefa's high fives, the Champions League climax would be closer if it were Chelsea playing United. Barcelona's defence, never the strongest, has been weakened by injuries and suspensions.

If Sir Alex Ferguson goes 4-3-3, and depending whether he really means what he says about Ji-Sung Park starting, United's front line could see Wayne Rooney's skill and lung-power embarrassing Carles Puyol down the right, Cristiano Ronaldo racing past Sylvinho on the left while Dimitar Berbatov's aerial capabilities and intelligence in possession troubles Gerard Pique. Even this far out from the May 27 showdown, United look well-equipped to retain their trophy.